Justice League: Dark Beginnings
by tngolfplayer
Summary: This takes place shortly after the Superman movie and finds Bruce Wayne in Paris. Its based in the movie "universe" so there is a lot of liberty to take with stories etc.
1. Chapter 1

Paris France: June 4th, 2013

Bruce was reclining in his chair in Paris, a grim smile on his face. On the tv, every talk show host was debating the merits and the horrors that have arisen because of two costumed "hero's". The occupation and near destruction of Gotham, the destruction in Metropolis, the existence of a person so powerful he could fly, destroy buildings by clapping his hands, and was apparently not even of this world.

Luckily, his computer virus had acted quickly, erasing all mentions of Bruce Wayne to the Batman. Even though he was considered dead, he had substantial money put aside in various accounts under various identities. Pausing the tv on an image of Superman, he gazed thoughtfully at the screen. The man looked human enough, but was the most powerful individual he had ever seen. Browsing through web forums, social media and news reports, Bruce tried to form an opinion of this "man of steel" that was as accurate as possible.

Rising from the chair, he began his morning workout, testing his rehabilitated knees. The expense of the surgery was phenomenal, but he was now in the best shape of his life, requiring no braces or assistance in moving.

His cell phone rang and with a smile, he answered it. "Hello Selena." "Bruce, we need to talk" she replied. Her voice was strained, not like her at all. "Go ahead, what's wrong?" questioned Bruce.

"Are you still in Paris?" she asked. "Of course, I told you I would contact you before I left. Selena, what's going on?"

"Its..its Batman Bruce. He was on the news last night fighting a mutated lizard creature. He put the creature in intensive care."

Bruce sat down, the phone held limply in his hand. Shock, then anger coursed through his veins. Only one person would have been brazen enough to wear the costume and take the name. Only one person who had the ability to do so. Blake. The rookie cop who wanted to make a difference.

"Bruce? Bruce!" Selena shouted. "Are you there?"

"Yes, I am returning to Gotham. As Bruce Wayne."

"But how, Bruce Wayne is dead" Selena proclaimed.

"Even the dead can get a clean slate" Bruce replied, hanging up the phone.

He would need help with this one. Too many people knew he was Batman in Gotham. His virus kept online and media clean of this information, but Commissioner Gordon knew, as did probably a few of his closest friends.

Pausing, he looked at his phone, then dialed a number. "Zatana, I need a favor" Bruce spoke.


	2. Chapter 2

Metropolis: June 5th, 2013

Clark adjusted his tie nervously. Meeting with Lex Luthor, the billionaire was going to be an interesting assignment. Rumors of the man's corruption was all over the internet, but Lex himself seemed to stay pretty clean.

"Mr. Kent? Mr. Luthor will see you now." Spoke his assistant at a huge oak desk. Nodding his head at her, he walked into the massive windowed office of one of the richest people on the planet.

Lex was sitting at his table, in a suit that cost more than most people would make in a life time. Polished bald head, narrow shoulders, narrow waist he appeared to be a fit professional business man.

"Mr. Kent, thank you for accepting my invitation for this meeting." "After the wonderful article you wrote on this, Superman, I wanted to get your opinion on things". Lex said.

"Of course Mr. Luthor, I am pleased to be here."

"Mr. Kent, the world itself has changed overnight. The appearance of this so called Superman has changed the game, unleveled the playing field if you will." Lex began. "Previously there was just a vigilante in a bat suit beating up normal humans. But even he seemed to attract the more ruthless people."

"Are you speaking of the Batman? I thought he was dead, nobody has seen him since he flew the bomb away over the harbor". Clark replied.

"His death was premature. Last night he was captured on camera brutally beating a mutated lizard creature." "In fact, he was more brutal than any other time I saw footage of him, he may not be the original. "Lex mused. "Regardless there are now two confirmed "heroes" on this planet. How long before people with less than savory intentions arise and cause even more chaos? This Superman is an alien, and he fought an alien and destroyed a large chunk of the city. What if more aliens show up now? What if these costumed maniacs decide to take over? What chance do mere mortals have against powers like that?"

"Are you asking a question, or making a point Lex? From my interview with Superman, he has a strict code of honor he adheres too, and only wishes to protect those who can't protect themselves." Clark replied.

"Words Mr. Kent. Merely words." Lex said while waving his hand in the air. "The Batman, while he did save a city, is a vigilante. One with an enormous bankroll I might add."

"Are you admitting to being the Batman?" Clark asked? Because after the death of Bruce Wayne and your acquisition of some of his properties, that puts you at the top of the wealth index."

"My dear boy, why would I engage in fist a cuffs with low life scum? I would merely poison them if I wanted them gone." Lex laughed. "But thank you for the good laugh, and your insights into this Superman. Now if you will excuse me, I have business matters to attend to."

Clark rose from his chair, nodded and briefly shook Lex's hand, then walked out the door.

Once Clark had left, Lex pulled up his computer and looked at the data he had captured from Clark. Body temperature normal, breathing normal, no toxins of any sort, oxygen consumption normal. Body density abnormal. Lex frowned, then smiled with satisfaction. The only way a human reported could have gotten the information on Superman that fast was if he was Superman. His suspicions were correct. Clark was the alien.

Leaning back in his chair, fingers steepled, brow furrowed in thought he pondered his options. He had been fairly sure Bruce Wayne had been the Batman, but Wayne was dead, and Batman wasn't. Superman though was the more immediate concern. Briefly he typed out an email, then sat back to patiently await the reply.

As Clark was leaving the building, he was deep in thought. This Batman was a danger, and he needed to meet with him immediately, find out what was going on, and most importantly, who he was. His phone rang, startling him. "Clark, you need to get to Gotham immediately. Bruce Wayne has returned from the dead and will be giving a speech the 7th. Get me an interview that surpasses your report on Superman."

"Of course Perry, I'll get right on it." Smiling he pondered the luck that came his way this time.


	3. Chapter 3

Gotham City: June 7th, 2013

Bruce walked down the stairs of Wayne enterprises, a beautiful dark haired woman at his side. "Are you sure this will work?" Bruce whispered. "Of Course it will, I had my father check it out, and he will be supporting me from his home." The lady replied. Bruce nodded and stepped up to the podium.

Immediately the flashing of hundreds of cameras went off, momentarily blinding Bruce.

"Mr. Wayne, we thought you were dead!"

"Mr. Wayne where have you been, how did your company's fortune return?"

"Mr. Wayne, don't you find it odd that you have shown up mere days after the Batman?" asked one reporter, silencing the crowd.

Bruce managed to keep his cool as he eyed the reporter in the front row, in a blue suit with glasses. Something looked familiar about him. With a pinch on a button inside the sleeve of his suit, a micro camera zoomed in and began to photograph the reporter.

"Batman? I am much too lazy to be somebody who spends all their time in a suit. Besides, I keep my evenings much more, exciting" he replied, squeezing the dark haired lady beside him. Zatana smiled and moved into his arms, but her eyes were flashing with humor.

"I am sure everybody wishes to know where I have been, how my finances have been restored, so I will take a few moments for an explanation, then a couple of questions. Serious questions though" he said, while smirking at the reporter in blue.

"During the beginning of Banes takeover of Gotham, I was captured by Talia. I was too valuable an asset to leave alive, and she knew any in depth investigation of the stock sell would prove it was not me who authorized the transactions. She wished to utilize my connections and wealth to add to her empire, enabling more tragedies like those that struck Gotham. I was the prisoner of her sect for over 6 months, until a freak blizzard struck their compound. I was able to escape in the confusion and return to a small town. From there I phoned Alfred, who was quite surprised to hear from me. He personally came and picked me up. From there I spent another 4 months in rehab repairing the damage to my body."

Bruce paused and looked around. Commisioner Gordon was standing to the side, his arms crossed and glaring at Bruce like he had a few extra questions. Zatana had turned her head and was mumbling softly behind Bruces back. Oddly enough the reporter in the front was focused on her, almost as if he could hear her. Bruce felt the energies growing at his back as the mystical power she possessed grew in strength.

"The body Alfred turned over to the police as me, was an agent of Talia's, surgically altered to look like me, including a complete set of teeth implanted into his head matching my dental patterns, and skin grafts on the hand that were good enough to fool an examiner, once the hands had been burnt almost beyond recognition." Bruce continued. He felt Zatana sigh as the power left her, and glanced at Gordon, whose imposing stare was replaced with one of almost fatherly affection. The reporter was staring wide eyed at Zatana and Bruce.

Clark was listening to Bruce speak, when his hearing detected a female voice speaking ever so softly. He focused his hearing on the woman beside Bruce and realized she was the one speaking, but that the words made no sense. A microsecond later his brain began processing the information, she was speaking backwards! He began an instant translation of what she was saying, all the while preparing his mind against any attack. "Render from the mind of all, Bruce Wayne's mighty fall. Back from the dead his story is true, never more nothing to do. To those who know his secret name, remember it was just a silly game. Bruce is not batman nor batman him, never question ever again!" She spoke. Clark's eyes widened, not only was his hunch correct and Bruce Wayne was the Batman, he was using a witch to erase this knowledge from anybody's head that knew it. His brow furrowed in anger. So that was the kind of person he was. Nothing more than a thug in a costume, determined to get his jollies from beating up people.


	4. Chapter 4

Twenty miles away, in the bat cave, John Blake was watching the newscast, growing more furious every moment. How dare Bruce come back from the dead? If he thought he was getting the cape back he was mistaken. Blake began furiously moving back and forth, his anger growing more and more intense. Then, at the peak of his anger, as always, the voice came back.

"Blake, he is not the true Batman. He is not the one who can do what needs to be done for the city, only you can only you can."

"I know!" screamed Blake. Always close to the edge, the smile he had shown the world to hide the anger and pain gone. "I know!" he howled in madness.

"You should also know the witch beside him is magically manipulating the minds of everybody watching this and reading this. Here, on the burial site of the ancient ones, our magic's protected you. But she must be the next to die. The first of many" they whispered as they faded away.

"Yes, they must all die for what is going on. The corruption, making orphans out of children must end. He never could. I must." He growled. Returning the Bat Suit, he began making some more modifications which would allow him to fulfill his destiny and clean this city of the scum that never seem to leave.

Back in Gotham, Bruce was answering questions politely, normal questions, as everybody accepted the official story. Waving one last time he and Zatana left the podium and went to the car where Alfred was waiting. Climbing into the back seat they found another slender dark haired woman who literally oozed sexual tension.

"Any problems with the charm I gave the three of you? Zatana asked. "None" replied Lucias and Alfred.

"It clashed with everything I had to wear" Selena purred. "I almost wore nothing at all, but I would have positively died if it caused our older friends a heart attack."

Bruce rolled his eyes and motioned for Alfred to go on. Time to rest, then tonight, he hunts.

Clark watched them leave, his vision and hearing picking up on what was said. Two women, Bruce, and two other older gentlemen he didn't know. Grimacing he decided he needed to make a formal request for an interview with Mr. Wayne. Private. Remote. Away from other people in case the Batman was really as crazy as they say.

Later that evening, as darkness was falling, Blake put on the suit and proceeded to get in the car. Say what you would about Wayne he thought, but the man had taste in cars. Accelerating towards Gotham, he pulled up a tracking radar that would show him the way to tonight's…fun. A druggie was going to lead him to his dealer, then after some persuasion, he would be hopefully finishing off a drug ring he had been working on. He smiled a wolfish smile at the thought of trying out some of his new toys.

Bruce say in his penthouse alone, analyzing the reporter who disturbed him so much. Running a software facial recognition software he developed he watched as possible matches were found and either put to the side, or discarded. He knew the reporters name now, a Clark Kent, from metropolis. He authored the big story on Superman that was quite detailed. On a hunch, Bruce pulled up the best possible picture of Superman he could find, and ran it through the software. It returned a 75% match. Frowning, he punched a few buttons, removing Clark's glasses and the probability went up to 99%. Sitting back he pondered what this meant. It was no coincidence he was here, especially after Batman had made a violent appearance recently. He stood and went over to the hidden closet, palmed the panel, and opened the door. Behind the door was one of the latest Bat suits he made, right before his retirement. For the next couple of minutes he made a few modifications he thought may help him, then for the first time in over a year, he put the suit back on. The thrill of the suit was incredible. The feeling that somehow, he was home, and was who he was born to be flowed through him. Killing the penthouse lights, he stepped out onto the balcony, then out into nothing, free falling.


	5. Chapter 5

Superman was hovering a mile away from Wayne's penthouse, watching him closely. He observed him putting on the Bat suit, and noticed immediately the change in the way he held himself and moved. Supreme confidence, power, purpose. He watched as he stepped off the balcony, and before he could move to catch him, he watched in amazement as a cord shot out of his hand and he swung away to another building. He moved forward to follow him when he heard screams a few blocks away. He turned and flew to the location and saw a different looking Batman standing over a bleeding, injured, person.

Blake/Batman finally found his junkie. As luck would have it, he was at his dealers at the moment. He left the car and fired a cable up, swinging into the shadows on the side of the alley. Fully armored, his new suit was a bit heavy then the original, but with some of his new arsenal, he was prepared for anything. Crouched in the shadows he watched as the druggie left and the dealer turned to walk away. Leaping from the fire escape, he landed on the back of the dealer, both knees firmly in his spine. He heard a satisfying crunch and heard the dealer yell out in pain. Rolling the dealer over, ignoring the fact his legs were limp and non-moving, he grabbed the dealer by the throat and lifted him up, slamming him into the wall. "Where's Black Mask?" he growled out. The dealer was barely responsive, barely whimpering when Blake slammed him into the wall again, hearing the crack of his skull this time.

"I'm not asking again scum!" Blake roared, as this time micro needles from his gloves pierced the dealers skin, and sparks of electricity shot out into the dealer.

"Enough" spoke a voice, above and behind Blake. Blake turned slowly and faced the alien from the news, hovering behind him, a scowl on his face, arms folded. "Give yourself up, and it will go easier for you." Superman said.

Blake blinked his eye, pulling up a display in his helmet doing a quick analysis of the alien. "Why would you stop me, do you want scum like this on the street, killing people, killing kids?" Blake asked. Trying to delay Superman with conversation, Blake was using micro-pressure points in his gloves and eye motions to arm and prepare his surprises.

Superman was disgusted. He never thought Wayne was a killer. Looking closely with x-ray vision, he tried to look at his face, into his eyes, and was brought up short. Wayne's helmet was sheathed in a thin layer of an iron polymer. In fact, his whole costume was. How could he know about that? Was he really that smart?

"Of course not, but you catch one, turn him in, then move to the next. You aren't a judge, jury and executioner Wayne."

Blake let out a short maniacal laugh. "You think I am that pathetic Wayne? He was weak, he was pathetic, and he couldn't make the hard choices needed for this line of work." Inside his helmet, his lights flashed green. Good, let's see what this alien is made of Blake thought to himself.

Crouching down twin Tasers appeared on his shoulder and launched themselves towards Superman. In shock he watched as they bounced off his chest, never getting a chance to embed in his skin. Superman sighed and blurred down to Blake, crushing the launchers in his hands, then picking Blake up by his throat. "Didn't do your homework did you Batman?" Superman asked. Losing oxygen Blake pressed another button in his glove that turned on millions of high powered LED's woven into the suit. Superman dropped Blake as he blinked in surprise. Did he just blow himself up? Blinking rapidly he began looking around when a rising high pitched screech went off beside both his ears, and Blake was bouncing away again, this time throwing putty at him. The sound was increasing to the painful level when the putty exploded. Not exactly hurting him, but with the noise, causing him to stagger to the ground. He heard Blake's voice weaving in between the modulation of the screeching.

"I did do my research. Superman, I assumed super senses as well. You might be wondering why my suit is all in lead? I found an unique rock the other day, unlike any I had ever seen. It was green and glowing, and giving off radiation. I also found I could channel the radiation into a focused beam, that would poison and burn anything. I was planning on using it on Black Mask, a body part at a time, but now is a good time to field test it."

Superman was listening but not overly worried. He could fly into space, into the very sun. Radiation wouldn't bother him, but this screeching was getting annoying. He couldn't focus his senses enough to locate it either.

A green beam of misty light exploded from Blake's glove, hitting Superman in the back. Superman began to feel sick, then weak, and wondered what was going on. He had never felt like this before. Staggering to his knees he turned around to look at Blake and his vision blurred and he fell back to the ground.

Blake was watching Superman and had a realization, he had just found out Superman was sensitive to radiation. He could sell this information to the government, get the money he needed to continue his fight. He knew they must be worried about the alien. He walked over to Superman, kicked him a couple times, and then left the alley. Leaving behind a dead drug dealer, and a wounded man of steel.


	6. Chapter 6

**Gotham City, June 8****th****, 2013 1am**.

Bruce/Batman saw two bodies lying in the alley and was swinging in for a closer look. One of the bodies was unknown, but the other was Superman. Landing on the ground he approached the dealer first, feeling for a pulse, and found none. Dead. He briefly examined him and found his skull crushed, hand marks around his throat, and small punctures in his neck with burn marks on them. Shaking his head, he turned and walked towards Superman. He was in rough shape it appeared. Bruce was confused, he knew of nothing in Gotham that could bring down Superman like this. Looking closer he saw above each ear small speakers, and grimaced. Peeling them off him, he then crushed them between his fingers. Blake. Somehow Blake had done this. He began assuming Superman saw Blake killing the dealer and intervened. Somehow Blake had beat the man of steel. Supersonics was one of the ideas Bruce had to slow him down, but it shouldn't have incapacitated him. A small beeping from his belt alerted him to his Geiger counter. Low level radiation. Odd that an alien was sensitive to radiation. He heard he could fly in space. Pulling out another device he took several air samples, verified they had trace amounts of radiation in them and put it away in a lead lined pocket. He would analyze this later. For the moment he needed to alert the authorities to the body, and move Superman. He pushed another button calling Alfred, and moved Superman to his shoulders. Grunting under the weight he settled himself and placed a time delay flare beside the corpse. He moved to the shadows and waited for Alfred to bring the car around.

**Gotham City, June 8****th****, 2013 10am**

Superman awoke in a sun filled room, by the window. He was feeling a bit weak but better. He was still confused as to what caused this effect on him. Laying there, gathering himself, he heard breathing in the room with him.

"Feeling better are we." A gruff, gravelly voice spoke. Even though it was changed, it was also identifiable as Wayne. Two Batman's? That made no sense. Sitting up, Superman turned and looked, towards the voice. Bruce Wayne was sitting at the table looking intently at him. "I assume you did some generous thing and brought me somewhere safe to heal." Superman asked, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

Bruce looked at and said quietly, "Not at all, if you would have remained there, the police would have found you and locked you up for murder. I have personal business to attend to in Gotham and would prefer you be gone as soon as possible. If giving you a few hours of sleep accomplishes that, then yes, I did a good deed."

Superman stood up and looked at Bruce. "I suppose you want to know what happened, don't you." Bruce looked over at him and casually mentioned, "It wouldn't hurt to hear the details, but the overall picture I got. You tried to stop Batman from killing a drug dealer, and he beat you down with radiation." Superman looked a bit shocked, then nodded his head. "Guess you really are a detective." Pausing for a moment he looked up at Bruce. "Please tell me you aren't a murderer. Or that it wasn't really you in the suit acting crazy."

"No." Bruce replied. "I don't kill. I am not the jury or executioner. I am the trash pickup only." Pausing Bruce looked thoughtful. "I do know who was masquerading as Batman last night though.

Superman shook his head twice, almost in humor. "Once again I stand corrected." A thought occurred to him. "How did this Batman know you were Batman before him? This was well after your witch friend did her hocus pocus."

"She's not a witch, she is a magician," Bruce replied off handedly. "It must be the location of the Batcave. Thousands of years ago a shamanistic clan settled, lived, and died in the general area. The Batcave was a holy place to them. If he was in there, then the mystic energies probably shielded his mind."

Bruce stood up and faced Superman. "Any more questions? I am disappointed you didn't ask the most obvious." Superman paused, looked up and asked "What did he hit me with. He said radiation, but I have never had radiation affect me before."

Bruce walked over to his computer, punched a couple buttons and pulled up a presentation on the wall. "Based on the air samples I collected, it's a new type I have never seen before. How Blake came into contact with it, I have no idea. I doubt he knew it would work specifically on you, he probably was just happy to have a form of radiation to play with." Bruce paused, then turned and looked at Superman. "Unless, somebody knew about this particular radiation and left the rock where he would find it. I don't believe in chance."

"Well, however it happened, I need to get it back and destroy it" Superman said. "I assume you know where he is don't you?" Superman asked. "As a matter of fact, I do. There is only place he could be." Bruce replied.

"Tell me where, I am bringing him in" Superman declared. "No" replied Bruce simply.

"No?" Superman questioned.

"Correct. I know there is nothing wrong with your hearing. I am going to Commissioner Gordon, as Batman tonight. He deserves to know. And then, I am bringing him in." Turning to look at Superman he added, "You can help, or you can stay out of the way.

Superman stood there stunned. He could burn, throw, crush, kill this man 100 ways before his next heartbeat and he doesn't even act like he is worried. And based on his heartbeat and respiration, he has been 100% honest with me the entire time, even during the threat. Superman paused, appearing to think it over.

"Deal. Mostly because I want to make sure you aren't a menace to society, but also I need to get my hands on that rock" Superman said, a frown appearing on his brow. Bruce turned, noticing the change in the pitch in his voice. "Something the matter Clark?" Bruce asked with a smirk. Superman shook his head looking at Bruce. "Is there anything you don't know? Something you said earlier, about somebody planting the rock. Who would know it would affect me?"

Bruce stood still pondering the situation. "This is one of those things I don't know, but I will find out. I do have theories, but that is all they are at this time." Turning away he walked for the elevator. "Change clothes, I'll give you the interview you need for your job over lunch, then I have some calls to make." Superman raised his eyebrows. How did he know about that? Shaking his head, baffled by this person but slightly amused, he went to change back into his suit and tie.

**Metropolis June 8****th****, noon**

"Yes of course, I will take the call" Lex replied to his speaker phone. "Hold the rest of my calls and appointments please."

"Lex, I got some information for you. It just came down the wire and my division intercepted it. Triple encryption on the file, but we were able to get in it." the voice on the phone said.

"Indeed" Lex mused. "Well then, lets see what we have to work with my dear."

"Don't call me that Lex. I will work with you, but don't think I like you. During Supermans fight in Metropolis, a skin cell came off and was recovered by our biogenetics group. We are in the fourth stage of developing a clone of sorts. But that's not the big news."

Lex paused with his eyebrows raised. "We have the ability to clone Superman, to have our own guardian, and that's not the big news?"

"No. We know how to kill Superman."

Lex's eyebrows climbed even higher. "I assumed that was impossible. What happened?"

"He was in Gotham and the Batman not only picked a fight with him, but lived to walk away, with barely a scratch. He claims to have found a rock that emits a radiation that weakens Superman and probably would kill him based on exposure time and strength."

"And his price?" Lex asked dryly.

"Enough money to allow him to continue his crusade, and any immunities he can get from the government and law enforcement."

"Done and done" Lex replied. "Arrange to meet him to get the rock, I will have the funds in an account and the information to you within an hour. Ah Amanda. Soon we mere mortals will no longer have to worry about invading aliens, crazed bat people or any other of these recent issues."

"Agreed Mr. Luthor. I will speak with you within the hour." The phone went silent as Amanda Waller hung up the phone, ensuring she was able to show some control to Lex.

Lex smiled at the little games she played. Soon he would have the means to kill Superman, and replace him with an obedient clone all at the same time. Turning back to his computer he pulled up another name, and sent an email. No sense spending all this money on the Batman. It will be cheaper to have him killed.

**Central City June 8****th****, Noon**

Wally West was furious at his college professor. No un-authorized use of the ultrasonic beam generator would be permitted. His experiments were dangerous. Creating objects that could vibrate through steel would be a waste of energy and resources.

Well, unfortunately for his professor, he left his computer unlocked after class and Wally was able to retrieve his password for the lab. He would come back after hours and do his experiment at night, then leave and nobody would be any wiser.


	7. Chapter 7

**Gotham Police Department Roof June 8****th****, 8pm**

"Are you sure this is the best way?" Superman inquired.

"Just do it" Bruce growled. "After last night they will be after a Batman. They may think you came to help."

Superman sighed, and floated down three floors to hover outside Commissioner Gordon's office. He tapped gently on the window, and when Gordon turned around with a look of shock on his face, Superman sighed and pointed up. Gordon nodded and grabbed his coat and headed for the roof.

Once on the roof Gordon came to a stop, a little in awe of the man floating 6 inches above the ground in front of him. "I would ask if I could help you, but I seriously doubt I could." Gordon began

Superman pointed to the shadows behind him. "It was his idea Gordon, I am just the messenger in this instance." Gordon looked to the shadows and stepped back a bit. "You" he hissed, going for his gun. Superman casually floated between Gordon and Batman with his hands in the air. "Please Commissioner, hold your fire. I vouch for him. At this point."

"Gordon, you should know it's not me doing the brutal fighting, and the killing. I never crossed that line. Not with the Joker, not even with Bane. You know this."

Gordon paused, the voice sounded much more familiar then the one he spoke to a few nights ago. His fear later that night had been confirmed that something was different. Then after last night, he had to consider Batman to be a real threat.

Gordon looked at Superman's calm expression, Batman's posture the same as he remembered. He re-holstered his gun and wiped his brow. "Well, where the hell have you been? Who is the new guy? I figured radiation poison got to your brain or something."

"I was recovering." Batman said. "As to who it is, remember Blake?" Gordon gasped, then paused and thought. "He did have anger issues, and a burning desire to make changes." He wiped his head again, damn this Gotham humidity.

"Okay, I can understand why you are here, but what about him?" Gordon thumbed at Superman. "Superman shrugged. "I came to help Gotham out how ever I can. It's been an interesting couple of days to say the least."

"So what's the plan then?" Gordon asked.

"I got somebody finding him right now. We stop him, bring him in."

"Simple" Gordon replied. Turning his back to the police station he added "We have to have the new one in custody before we can legally offer you any aide but if you need anything off the books, let me know." Turning around they were both gone. Gordon shook his head. Yep, that was the real one all right.

**Central city June 8****th****, 9pm**

Wally walked through the halls of the university like any other late night graduate student pulling a double. Luckily it was relatively deserted, especially in the area where he was going. Using his professor's passcode, he entered the deserted lab and quickly plugged his jump drive into the control computer. All he had to do was scan for the right frequency to get the metal to vibrate, then increase it and voila, a new sturdier way of building would be presented. Quickly he began powering up the various lab devices taking careful notes, then placed a square of solid steel on top a plate of titanium. His goal was to vibrate the molecules of the steel at such a speed it would slowly start to merge with the titanium, creating an atomic level bonding, stronger than any welding or smelting could ever be.

Once everything was in place, he began the experiment. Slowly he ramped up the ultrasonic generator while monitoring the steel via an electron microscope. Pretty soon he began to see results, and had to use a high speed camera through the microscope to view what was happening. Oddly the molecules weren't vibrating as much as moving extremely fast.

Without any warning the power in the building flickered, and as it did, it reset the position of the ultrasonic beam accelerator to its default location. Unfortunately, it also reset Wally's program, and restarted the accelerator as it was skewing back to default. The beam hit the lens of the microscope, amplified as it blew out ever lens of the microscope, and emerged from the view finder directly into Wally's eyes. He screamed in agony as the remnants of the beam vibrated through his brain, and down his body. With a last gasp, he fell to the floor, shaking uncontrollably.

Five minutes later Wally regained his senses and realized he was two floors below the lab. Dammitt, he thought, the microscope! He turned to run back to the lab, and tripped into the wall. He paused, looking over his shoulder. What the hell? He covered 20ft in the blink of an eye? What had happened to him? He began shaking again, this time with fear, and realized he was sinking into the floor. He jumped up and landed on solid flooring, an expression of horror on his face. He had accomplished his experiment, only instead of a piece of steel, it was him.

He opened the door, looked around, then raced down the hall, covering 50ft in less than a second. Smiling, he began to see there might be some fun to be had, and decided to go outside and take it for a spin.

**Gotham City June 8****th****, 9PM**

Blake/Batman was crouched in the shadows by the pier, waiting for Luthor's contact to arrive via boat. He double checked his equipment to ensure everything was ready to use on a moment's notice. With the information he had, and the simplicity of his demands being met, he became nervous. He had the majority of the rock in a lead line box. A small piece was still integrated into his suit, just in case. When dealing with somebody as powerful as this Lex Luthor appeared to be, you never took chances.

Bruce/Batman, Superman, and Zatana stood on a rooftop, several blocks away from Blakes position. Bruce crouched down with night goggles on staring intently at him. Turning he looked at Superman. "That's him. He appears to be waiting on something, or someone."

Superman scanned the harbor, then paused and seemed to focus on something. "A ship is coming in, with Lex Luthor's graphics on it." He turned and looked at the others. "Why would Lex be meeting Blake?"

"Maybe it's a coincidence? Or maybe Lex is trying to bring guns into the city?" Zatana offered.

"No. Ever since Superman's appearance on earth, Lex has bought out several weapons and technology firms, including parts of WayneTech. I researched briefly into what he was doing and it seems he has scientist working around the clock at new weapons tech." Bruce replied. Turning to look at Superman he added, "Tech that is centered on armor piercing, increased velocity, nano-bots. Stuff designed to take down somebody more powerful than the current military can handle."

Superman looked thoughtfully at the incoming boat. "So Blake decides to sell his stone, and Luthor finds out and agrees to buy."

"Essentially yes." Bruce replied. "However there is more to this than that. Luthor has contacts. One of his contacts reported this to Lex. A middle man who may have their own reasons."

Superman glanced over, slightly intimidated by Batman's analytical mind. Zatana caught the glance and gave an acknowledging grin.

Batman stood up, preparing his line. "I am moving in closer, I want a good visual of who this is, and what goes down. Blake can wait, this is more important. If you two are doing making faces behind my back, let's go." With that last sentence he fired a line across the buildings and swung down to the ground. Chuckling Superman picked Zatana up and began to fly down.

"Don't worry, he grows on you." Zatana said with a laugh. "He does indeed," Superman added with a slight grin.

Two buildings away, a figure moved ever so slowly from the shadows. A distinct blue and orange outfit was layered over what appeared to be a very fit individual. He had observed the Batman, Superman, and the woman leave the roof. Apparently they were here following the new Batman. No worries, he got paid the big bucks, and if he played his cards right, now only could he get the job done, he could accomplish another, almost more important job. With practiced hands he broke down the weapon he had set up, and began installing a new one.

The Luthor owned yacht began docking at the pier, and a well-built man and a nervous looking woman stepped down the plank. The man turned and looked towards the shadows, exactly where Blake was crouched and waved, moving forward.

"Bruce. Bruce do you hear me?" A voice whispered in his ear. "Go ahead Selena, make it fast."

"I searched everywhere, including the hidden places you told me about. Nothing."

"I suspected as much. Get out of there. **_Batman _**out". Batman turned and looked at the others. "I had Catwoman search the cave once Zatana had located Blake. It's not there, which means he has it on him, and will probably be unloading it in a few minutes." Batman looked through his goggles again. "I see one woman, one man, and Blake. It would be foolish to think that was all that was here though. Zatana, keep the woman occupied, Superman, keep the yacht bottled up. I am going to have words with Blake."

Batman crept through the shadows, eyes and ears alert to any noise betraying any hit men or additional complications. He looked up and saw Superman high in the sky, ready to swoop down once the fireworks began. Looking across the alley at Zatana, he saw she was ready, her hands down, her lips moving as she gathered the mystic power to her that she would need.

The large man on the pier moved towards Blake, a disarming smile on his face. "Now, now, hiding in shadows? Is that any way for partners to act? Nathanial Adam, US Air force." Blake stepped forward out of the shadows. "I have no time for games. I got what you need, do you have the wire?"

Captain Adam shook his head. "No time for pleasantries I suppose. I hope this rock does all they claim it will. Clean source of energy, unlimited shelf life. Sounds too good to be true."

Blake paused in shock, then continued on forward. Apparently Luthor hadn't told his flunkies the truth about the rock. "It does." Blake replied. "Your bosses already triple verified my results". Blake held out the hand with the rock in it. Captain Adam opened it, verified it with a picture, and a Geiger counter. In turn, he handed Blake a jump drive. "Plug that in, it has an encrypted link to the money, where you can download it into any bank in the world in under 5 minutes.

Blake nodded, and pulled and extension out of his glove, plugging the drive in. He verified the money and the account, nodded and turned to walk away.

Captain Adam turned and walked back to the boat, the stone secure in a box on his belt. A sudden whoosh of air and the man of steel was between him and the boat. The woman beside him gasped and fell back, almost into the water before Captain Adam grabbed her.

"Superman? What are you doing here?" Adam asked.

"The rock captain, I need it. I don't know what you have been told, but the information you gave Blake is incorrect." Superman replied.

"I'm sorry Superman, this rock is the property of the US government now. I can't let you have it."

"And I can't let you turn that rock over to Luthor either" Superman added. Slowly floating down to the dock.

"Luthor? He has nothing to do with this." Adam sputtered.

"Quit talking and take him down" Blake growled, leaping from the shadows, arm extended, green radiation exploding forward. Superman made a quick choice, and lept between the radiation and Captain Adam and the woman, taking the full brunt of the attack in the chest. Mystic energy surrounded him as Zatana stepped from the shadows, her hands up, chanting backwards and she tried to shield and contain the radiation. Blake looked over towards her and shot off two steel bat-a-rangs at her. A dual sounding clang stopped him in his tracks as Bruce stepped between Blake and Zatana, shielding her. "It's over Blake" growled Bruce.

Blake took a quick assessment of the situation and laughed menacingly. "It's never over. After my success with the strange green rock, I experimented with other radiation. If the green one was bad, wait till you get a dose of my special mixture." As he spoke several small balls fell from his hand, rolling past Superman. Captain Adam saw them and grabbed the woman with him and fell on her, trying to shield her. Superman, still weakened waved his hands together, the shock wave blowing the balls past Adam at increased speed. However, as the just cleared him, they exploded, and massive doses of radiation covered Adam. He screamed and threw the woman into the water, trying to keep her safe. Zatana switched her focus to Adam, and began chanting and pulling what she could off him. Bruce blurred forward as only the true Batman could and dealt a vicious blow to Blake's jaw. Blake staggered forward and saw Superman standing. Impossible he thought, he should have been dead from that extra radiation. Falling to the pier he looked up as Bruce stood over him, and Superman floated towards him. "Zatana, get Adam and the woman to the nearest hospital. Call Lucias, tell him we need the new containment suits." Bruce called out. Zatana quickly gathered them together, keeping them all individually shielded, spoke a few words, and floated off towards Gotham's nearest hospital.

Bruce and Superman turned towards Blake. "Come peacefully and we can get you some help, give you some peace" Superman quietly said. Blake looked up, about to speak when twin laser beams pierced his skull and exited out the back. Superman and Batman turned in the direction of the shooting and heard several people screaming "Superman killed him" "Superman is a murderer" and running from the pier.

"I see somebody in orange and blue jumping off the side of the building."

"Later, "Batman interrupted, "We have problems of our own." Police sirens sounded in the distance and Batman turned and ran for the shadows. "Move it Superman, meet me back at the tower."

"But the body, those people, the police, I need to explain." Superman began. "Stay if you want, but odds are those people are Luthor plants, who will tell the cops they saw you kill him. Only chance is to clear out and sort it out later."

Superman paused, then looked up. "I am staying, running only makes me look guilty."

Batman paused, looking down, new respect showing in his eyes. "Fine, I'll send you a lawyer. And find our mystery person."

A brief moment passed as they looked at each other, nodding, then Batman disappeared in the shadows.


	8. Chapter 8

**Gotham City June 9****th****, 1AM**

The hospital was full of doctors in radiation suits, desperately trying to save Nathaniel. His female companion had been cleared after a good scrub, and was in her room sleeping. Zatana was standing watch over Nathaniel, ready to mystically aide in any way possible. Lucias Fox had brought new radiation containment wrapping, designed to protect human's skin, and draw off any excess radiation. Captain Adam was barely conscious, as he was being wrapped in the silver material, the radiation spiking 100's time the safe level. They were in a special room designed in case of terrorist attack that shielded the majority of the hospital.

"Zatana, are you there" whispered a rough voice in her ear. "Yes Bruce, what is it?" she replied.

"The box with the green rock in it, does he still have it? We need to retrieve it if possible"

Zatana looked around, trying to discover where they placed the shredded remnants of his clothes. She walked down the hall, chanting under her breath, using mystic energies to locate the low level distinct radiation. She found it, but it seemed to be moving. "Maybe it was heading to the incinerator?" she thought. She increased her pace as it seemed to be leaving the building. Outside the building, she saw a woman in green, long dark hair moving away at a swift pace. She raised a hand and started to murmur the phrase that would return the box to her, when she felt a tremendous impact in her throat, blurring her vision, dropping her to her knees. "Can't have any of that now can we," whispered a stern voice. She looked up and saw a middle age, extremely fit man, who was missing an eye standing over her. He knelt down in front of her, as if to give her a hand, and released a brief burst of smoke from a pill held in his hand. As Zatana slipped off into unconsciousness, the last she heard was the one eyed man yelling for a nurse.

**GCPD, June 9****th****, 1:30AM**

Superman sat patiently in the holding cell, waiting for whatever was going to happen, to happen. He had given a statement, and was being asked to wait for more questions, but was not exactly under arrest.

Jim Gordon walked into the room, with two cups of coffee. He placed one in front of Superman, and kept the other for himself. Sitting back in his chair, he pushed his glasses up his nose a bit, and looked intently at Superman. "I appreciate the co-operation you have given us, but a call came in a few minutes ago from the higher ups to hold you indefinitely. I don't suppose you have a lawyer do you?"

"No, I have never needed one." Superman replied honestly. He thought for a second about Batman's promise to send one down. "Where did this order come from?" asked Superman.

"I checked on it, but was smacked down hard. I have my daughter looking into it a bit further, she has a gift for finding information out that she shouldn't." Gordon laughingly replied. He paused and pushed a recorder forward. "I understand if you don't want to, but if I could get a statement from you recorded, I can try and push this through and get you out of here" Gordon asked.

Superman paused, then nodded his head in agreement.

After 15 minutes of talking, Jim turned off the recorder and stood up. "Let me see what I can do with this, see if I can get you out of here. If there is anything you need…" Gordon trailed off.

Superman shook his head, "No, I am good."

As Gordon was opening the door, a well fit gentleman appeared in it. "Commissioner Gordon? My name is Channer Holding, lawyer." Gordon appeared oddly relieved. "Yes Mr. Holding? How can I help you?"

"I have here paper work overriding your previous orders. Superman is to be released at once, all charges dropped. Forensics was able to prove the holes were too far apart to have come from Superman's eyes, at the range the witness placed him. In addition there is no indication the laser was anything but that, an earth built laser." He opened his mouth to continue, but Gordon held up a hand, took the papers without looking, turned back to Superman, and released him.

Superman placed a hand on Gordon's shoulder and nodded briefly, then walked towards the door. Mr. Holding bowed briefly, and gestured for Superman to proceed.

Once out of the station, Superman turned to Holding and offered his hand. "Thank you for your assistance, did Mr. Wayne send you?"

"In a matter of speaking" replied a rough, deep voice. Superman looked closer, and identified Bruce's face beneath the disguise. Shaking his head, he rose into the sky. "Where at?"

"Penthouse. See you there." Bruce replied, turning and walking towards the street to a very expensive car, with a very pressed and proper butler holding the door.


	9. Chapter 9

**Metropolis, June 10****th****, 8am**

Luthor walked with purpose down the dimly lit hallway. Deathstroke had done his job well, as had Cheshire. The man of steel put on hold briefly, the green radioactive rock had been recovered, and one of the annoying Batmans had been killed. It was a bit disappointing to lose Captain Nathanial in the course of this operation, but Mercy had been returned to him intact. He made a mental note to send Bruce Wayne a thank you note for the care given to Nathanial. Smiling he thought that would be perfect. Keep Bruce, or Batman, off balance with a gesture of kindness.

"Mr. Luthor, this way please" spoke a female voice. "Ms. Waller, pleased to meet you, again" Luthor replied, a cocky smile on his face. Waller eyed Luthor briefly with a mix of disgust and anger. "There pleasure is yours Luthor. I did not authorize the death of Batman, or Batboy, or whoever he was. Nor do I appreciate loosing Captain Nathanial. We dealt in good faith with them, and you twisted it!"

Luthor raised an eyebrow and looked down on her. "Now Ms. Waller, we both know protection against Superman is the main objective here, we accomplished that. Besides, my man didn't interfere until after Superman showed up. Think of him as…insurance."

"Be that as it may Luthor, I don't want you interfering in Cadmus affairs again. We appreciate the funding, but that doesn't give you the authority to override our mission."

Luthor raised his hands in mock surrender. "I am just here to see the progress." Glaring a second longer, Waller turned and stalked down the hall into the elevator. Instead of choosing floors 1-6, she swiped her badge without pushing any buttons, and the elevator began its long descent down. Two minutes later, the elevator finally stopped. As the door opened, even Luthor could not be impressed. Test tubes, research centers, and computers, everything a good cloning lab needs. "Ever since our new hire of Patrick Da'seed, our cloning has taken off. He has dual degrees in genetics and cloning. Was shut down by the feds for cloning people a few years ago, we found him in the system, rotting away. We have been quite successful the past few days, in cloning, and robotics. Now follow me please." She led Luthor through the front lab, down a few halls, then back into a conference room. At the head of the conference room was a brain, preserved in a jar. Odd contraptions were attached to the jar, including what looked like a microphone, and a speaker.

"Greetings Luthor."

"A talking brain. This is your ultimate weapon against Superman?" Luthor asked dryly. Waller shot him an evil glare, then let out a sigh. "Lex, this is John Corbin. Brilliant materials scientist and robotics engineer. He has some slides to show you." Luthor nodded, then took a seat at the table.

"Ms. Waller, a moment please" whispered a weasel sounding voice. "Of course Patrick. Luthor, this is Patrick Da'seed, our resident expert on all things cloning." Luthor inclined his head in greeting. "I have heard a great deal of good about you. I look forward to seeing the progress you have made." "An honor Mr. Luthor. I am pleased with the work here, of the team." He nodded once, then slinked out with Waller close behind.

"I don't like him. He talks to himself too much" spat Corbin, after they left. Luthor leaned forward, steepening his fingers. "Indeed. Anything else I should know?"

"Yes"

Luthor waited patiently. Finally he sighed in exasperation. "And that would be?"

"He was responsible for the accident that cost me the use of my body."

Luthor leaned back, a frown on his head. "And, he wasn't punished? Disciplined?" "No. He is the star cloner. He can get away with murder." Corbin paused, then added. "He almost did." Luthor pondered the situation. Both men, or men and brain, were invaluable to his designs. "I'll talk with Waller later" he said. "Now, let's see what you have for me."

"Gladly. I have designated the green rock as K1, and have found a way to power a highly advanced android with it. This android is not only powered by K1, but can utilize it as a weapon, similar to what Batman did." Luthor leaned forward, looking rather bored. "That's all well and good Mr. Corbin, but there is no substance on earth that can withstand his strength. The android would be smashed into atoms. Besides, a machine wouldn't be smart enough, not with Batman working with him."

Corbin chuckled. "I am getting to that. Remember, I am a materials scientist as well. I am sure you have heard about how synthetic spider silk is being woven into bulletproof vest?" Luthor nodded his head. "Well, we have gone a few steps beyond that. We are using carbon and tungsten nano fibers, in addition to a new form of spider silk, to weave together the skin for the android. It's woven at the subatomic level, creating an alloy that is flexible, heat and cold resistant, and nearly indestructible. We sat it under a laser for a week, without even a scouring of the metal. We call it, Carbstenite. In addition, every millionth fiber is hollow, and will be used as a conduit for the K1 radiation. Just standing near the android will kill him."

Luthor had a little gleam appear in his eye. "Perfect. That is research money well spent. Now, what kind of processor will the android use? Or do we need to design one?

"No design is needed, nor a processor. My brain will be in it." Corbin paused, "And I will willingly do whatever you wish sir." "Excellent" Luthor whispered.

"This is still all theoretical isn't it? In case he becomes hostile?"

Luthor turned to the door, trying not to let the surprise show on his face. "Of course Ms. Waller. In case he gets out of hand."

"We aren't here trying to kill. We are here to save lives, have safeguards in place, and protection against any more like him out there" Waller said, quite sternly.

"My thoughts precisely" Luthor responded. "Now if you wouldn't mind, I would like to see the cloning area." Standing he turned and nodded at Corbin, then realized he probably couldn't see him. "Corbin, well done. We'll talk later." With those final words, Luthor turned and walked towards the door.

A 5 minute walk, and another elevator ride brought them even deeper into Cadmus structure. As they walked past tubes, a nightmare's assortment of figures stared back, frozen in suspended animation. "And these are?" Luthor inquired. "Failed test. We keep the bodies for the DNA." Luthor kept looking at them, noticing they got more and more defined as they walked further down. The last pod contained a normal looking teenager, like a younger superman. Luthor paused, looking in. "And this one? What's wrong with it?" Waller paused, turning slowly. "Nothing is wrong, per se. We failed at cloning an adult so many times, we tried cloning it as a teenager. This was successful. Rather than pollute this one, we used it as a template, to clone more young ones, and then practice advanced aging techniques." Waller walked over to a large steel door, and placed her palm against the biometrics scanner. With a creak, the door opened slowly. Inside were hundreds of tubes, each at a different station, each undergoing a different type of test. "For every one that lives to be suspended, 100 don't. His DNA is nothing like ours, but Patrick is doing a wonderful job. Without him, the success rate would be less than 0.01%"

Luthor eyed the test lab, pleased with what he saw. A motion grabbed his attention. Two lab attendants jumping backwards. Striding over in their direction, he noticed Patrick standing by, adjusting a machine that emitted several colors of light. Walking up to the viewing glass, he saw a small, rock like creature. Dense, rocky protrusions extended from its body. He observed it for a few minutes, then walked over to Patrick. "And this is? It looks nothing like a human." Patrick looked too Waller for permission, and she reluctantly nodded her head." Clearing his throat, fiddling with the dial Patrick replied "It's a weapon. Not grown to think, to feel, to need. Only destroy. Embedded with Superman's DNA, spliced with Carbstenite it will have his power, double his invulnerability, and none of his weakness. We are breeding it out of the creature." The radiation increased exponentially, alternating between various types. With a large explosion, the creature detonated. Luthor stepped back and raised a questioning eyebrow. Several attendants rushed in, scraped up all the parts they could find and took them back to a lab. Patrick noticed Luthor's expression and explained. "Forced evolution. Every death gives some sort of immunity to what killed him. We just…hurry nature along." Luthor nodded and turned to Waller. "Thank you for the tour, I see my investments are paying off. I'll be in touch soon." Turning, he began walking, forcing Waller to catch up. He allowed himself a brief smile. Soon, he thought, soon.


	10. Chapter 10

**Central City June 10****th**** 1pm**

"Hands up, this is a hold up! All your money, all you" was all the masked bandit could utter. A red blur moving faster than the eye could see had entered the building, hit both assailants, and went back out the building, even before the door could close. The people stood around in shock, trying to understand what had just occurred. A couple of security guards cautiously approached the downed thieves, and once sure they were unconscious, began to place handcuffs on them, and removed their weapons.

Across the street in an alley, Wally West was hiding behind a dumpster, watching the press and the police arrive. Grinning, he wanted to make an appearance, but was afraid they might shoot first. Granted, he could probably outrun the bullets, but why take that chance. He was staring so intently, he failed to notice footsteps approaching from behind him.

"Excuse me sir, but are you the one responsible for this?"

Tightening up his bladder control, determined not to cause a mess, he jumped up to his feet, his heart skipping in his chest. "Wha wha what, me? I'm, uh, an innocent bystander. Bye now!" He turned and ran down the alley and towards his house, as fast as he could, neglecting to notice the man standing behind the woman, with a camera.

Renee turned to her camera man and asked him the most important question of her career. "Did you get it?" The cameraman scanned through his viewfinder, looked up and smiled. "Sure did. Not that is shows much, he was only there a second." After hearing about this red costumed person breaking up criminals this morning, she was determined to find him. She had, and now her career was saved! Rushing back to the van, Renee and her camera man loaded up, and headed for the studio.

**The Oval Office, June 10****th**** 3pm**

"Mr. President? There is another one."

President Blackburn looked up as one of his advisors poked their head through the door. "Another what?"

"Another super human sir." The President nodded his head and with a wave of his hand dismissed his adviser. Three super powered humans in as many years. Four if you counted the Batman. What was their agenda? Would they obey a direct order to cease and desist? They seemed to be decent people, helping the common people, but they were outside the law. The mask they wore kept their identity hidden, so unless they gave up, or were captured, there wasn't much of a chance of stopping them. This, superman appeared unstoppable, as did the one on the coast, the green guy with the ring. Belatedly he remembered that he forgot to ask what the new one did. If they went rogue, there was nothing the world could do to stop them.

He pressed a button on his phone, dialing his receptionist. "Sir?" replied the young lady. "I need a meeting with the heads of NSA, CIA, FBI, and each branch of the military. I need it tonight, and I need it private."

"Yes sir" the lady replied. Hanging up, the President pondered other options. With a heavy sigh, he pulled his cell phone out, and searched through his contacts. Dialing the number he waited patiently for somebody to answer. "LexCorp, may I help you?" "Yes, I need to speak with Mr. Luthor, immediately please." The lady paused for only a second. "May I tell him who is calling?"

"Connor Blackburn". "Yes Mr. President, right away sir." Less than a minute later he heard the voice of the one person on the planet he thought might actually be able to help him. "This Lex, how are you Mr. President". Blackburn took a deep breath, and replied. Then he took a deeper breath, and proceeded to explain to Luthor his problem.

**Gotham City, June 10****th**** 5pm**

Bruce turned to Clark, both staring at the image on the screen. "Recognize him?" Clark shook his head. "No. Never heard of anybody who could run that fast." Bruce clicked a few buttons on his computer, filing all the information away. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"What's our next step?" Zatana rasped. "Did you have any luck identifying the two I saw?" "Actually I did." Bruce replied. Spinning the monitor around, he looked at Zatana and raised an eyebrow. "That him?"

Zatana looked closely, the picture was a bit blurry, but the features were right. "Yeah, that's him." Clark looked over at the monitor as well. "Who is he?"

Bruce pulled up a couple files from his computer. "Slade Wilson. Ex-military. He feels that he was treated wrong. They did some experiments on him, mind control, MK-Ultra type. The plan backfired. The drugs did something to his brain, increasing the speed that he see's things, gives him almost supernatural reflexes. Skilled and trained in the use of every weapon. Mercenary for hire." Zatana shuddered. "Why didn't he kill me then?"

"You weren't his mark, or his target. He doesn't often kill if he isn't paid for it" said Bruce. "How about the other one? The female that had the rock?" Zatana asked.

Leaning forward, Bruce pulled up another file. "She was a little harder to figure out, but I believe her name is Cheshire. Trained assassin. Hard to believe Luthor would ever feel the need to have both on his payroll."

"How do you know they both were working for Luthor?" Clark inquired. "Logic." Bruce replied. "We know the deal was being backed by Luthor, even though Nathanial wasn't aware of it. We saw Blake get shot by twin lasers, and the description of the shooter matches Slade's working outfit. Zatana tries to retrieve the rock at the hospital, and Slade incapacitates her." Bruce turned his gaze to Clark. "Luthor is dangerous enough without the rock. He has the resources to turn the rock into something much deadlier then Blake did. And he did it because of you." Silence reigned in the penthouse. Clark looked down at his feet, then met Bruce's piercing gaze. "Why? I have only met him once. I haven't affected him at all."

"Because of who you are. Because of what you are, what you represent to him." Clark looked at Bruce, confusion apparent in his eyes. "Because I am an alien? Can do things humans can't?" Bruce shook his head. "Not that simple, but the basis is right. You represent something Luthor craves. A means to set himself apart from the rest of the humans. Power. You have the power of life and death over every person on this planet. In most of the galaxy I would wager. Luthor is now second to you in that aspect. Even the green guy that caused a stir a few months ago, is second to Luthor. Another thing to consider is this. Luthor has his fingers in all sorts of technology. Bio-med, Bio-tech, nano tech, arms, drones, surveillance, even insurance companies. He has access to cutting edge technology in almost every division on the planet. He was slowly building an arsenal of knowledge and information. A treasure trove of power he could barter with for more power, position. Make no mistake, the man is dangerous."

Bruce sat watching Clark, watching while he absorbed the ramifications of his very being. "We need information, don't we? We need to know where the rock is, what Luthor's plans for it are, and anything else we can find out." Bruce nodded. "I have sources working on it. Luthor's main frame is all but un-hackable. But purchase orders, money transfers, transactions, all would lead a trail that might give us answers." Pointing at the TV, with the frozen image of the red costumed speedster, Bruce added. "Now there is another human, showing above normal powers. Luthor is going to be busy trying to monitor him as well, come up with a contingency plan for him. It may make him sloppy."

"So we wait?" inquired Clark. Bruce stood up, a smirk on his face. "Never been much for waiting." Offering his hand to Zatana he turned back to Clark. "Dinner? You coming?" Clark offered a small smile, then rose to join them as they walked to the elevator.

**Situation Room, the White House, June 10****th**** 9pm**

"We may have a problem on our hands gentlemen. The past few years have seen the rise of super-humans. We have the green guy from Coast City who raised a ruckus. Although we haven't seen him lately, it would be foolish to assume he is gone. Then we have this Superman, who almost leveled Metropolis. Who also claims to be from another planet. Now this guy. A human who can run faster than the eye can see." The president placed his hands on the table and looked around. "So far they have been friendlies, but what if the next one to show up is more powerful than any of them, and happens to be crazy?"

"Sir? You forgot the Batman" mentioned the head of the Air Force. The president looked around the table. "Do we want to add him to this list? All things considered, he is just human."

Falin Primrose, head of the CIA, coughed. "I say we include him. He wears a mask, he works outside the established law, and he has access to some impressive equipment." The President nodded in agreement. "Very well then. We have four current friendlies, potential hostiles. What do we do about it?"

Joan Farlow, Director of the FBI rose her hand. "Sir, this promotes a bit of a challenge. The public already is in arms about the wiretapping. We need to do this discreetly, or begin to vilify them and change public opinion." Pondering the situation, the President looked around the room. "Fine. We do this discreetly. Get some people on the computers, look for any financial transactions in those four cities that might indicate something unusual. Purchase of weapons, communications, even clothes and tailors. Anything that stands out. Ron?" "Yes Mr. President?" the director of NSA replied. "The wiretapping is still in place correct?" Ron nodded his head. "Good. In each of these four cities, I want every phone call monitored, every text, every email, and every Facebook post. If they communicate, I want it. I also want from all agencies, all social media mention of these people. I want to know what the public opinion is. Lastly, I want the new series of hummingbird drones flying in all four cities. If they find one of them, they call it in, and the rest converge and record."

"Sir, what about traffic cams, security cams and webcams in the cities?" "Co-opt them. I want them streaming through facial and profiling recognition software 24/7. If they go to get a beer at midnight, I want to track their movements." Pencils scratching furiously taking notes, jotting down ideas the three Directors were quiet for a moment. When all were finished, the President dismissed them, keeping the military heads in the room.

"Militarily speaking gentlemen, what are our options? If they turn rogue, what can we do?"

General Mason, of the Air Force, stood up. "Sir, with the exception of the Batman, we currently do not have anything that can keep up with the other three in flight speed. The green guy, and Superman both can out-fly, and out-fight even our most modern fighters. Aside from offering some high tech drones, we are currently in a planning stage."

The President nodded, jotted down a few notes the looked at General Delowe, Navy. "General?" Delowe stood up, looked around the room gravely. "With the exception of Batman, none of our missiles can track or acquire the other three. They are too fast. If we knew for a fact where one of them was, we could shell the area to get them, but with Superman and the green one, they would probably survive. If we find them sleeping we can send in the seals."

Growing impatient the President looked over at General Frelow of the Army. "Let me guess, except Batman you can't do anything either." General Frelow stood at rigid attention, a smirk breaking across his face. "The tech the Batman uses is prototype Army gear sir. With enough time we can narrow the possibilities down to who he is." Clearing his throat and looking mildly embarrassed he added, "And…uhm, who he gets it from." The President shook his head in disgust.

"General Fields. Are the marines capable of handling anybody, I think we have Batman covered by now." General Fields stood up, anger radiating across his face. "With all due respect, _sir,_ given the short term notice, the incredible power of these people, and the lack of funding for the military, its improbable any branch could counter them. Even if we could handle the green and red one, Superman is more than powerful enough to free them, and wipe us off the planet. We need to go about this a different way. Approach them with an open hand. Offer them a place to work with us, for peace. If we could convince them to be American "special ops" or a response team, we could guarantee world peace. Give them a physical, let them keep their mask on, but gather the data, see if we could replicate it."

President Blackburn's anger began to subside. "That's…an interesting proposal General. Instead of planning on them being a threat to us, attempt to control them first. Take that option away from them." He jotted down a few more notes. "Gentlemen, this is, of course, a moot point if there is another battle where a city gets destroyed. We need to move fast, before anything happens which could sway public opinion one way or the other. Dismissed."

The generals rose from their seats, saluted, then left the room. The president waited until they were gone, and rose and locked the door. Sliding a Bluetooth over his ear, he asked "Luthor, did you hear all that?"

"I did Mr. President. Do not let them underestimate the Batman. He has performed miraculous feats before. If he does have access to military tech, he may very well have access to more than we think, such as communications. Make sure they keep documents off anything with internet access. For the rest of the conversation, let's just say LexCorp began working on the problem the day the green guy appeared, and have stepped up operations with the emergence of Superman. I am sure we can find something the military could use." Blackburn smiled, spinning the pencil in his hand. "And what, exactly, would you want for this Mr. Luthor. Money? A position on the cabinet?"

Luthor laughed briefly. "I will sell the equipment to the military at standard rates. What I want personally, is future consideration for a favor I may at some point ask." Blackburn considered Luthor's answer. "I believe that is fair enough. Consider it a deal." Blackburn paused, his mind racing over several items at once. "I don't suppose you have any leads on who they are?" Luthor answered without pausing. "None. I have theories, but so far everyone has been proven incorrect." Blackburn sighed. "Well, good luck to you. I will send purchasing down to the military office of procurement tomorrow, tell them to go shopping. Good day Mr. Luthor." "Mr. President." Luthor replied.

Blackburn sat in silence, thinking of all that had happened, and what could go wrong. He felt he was doing enough, but was it? Should he bring the full might of the government down on them? Conflicted and torn inside, he sat in quiet solitude, perhaps he thought, the last quiet he would know for some time.

**Sector 2814 Talkor**

John Stewart was feeling better now than he had in a long time. Even feeling his legs was a miracle. Standing on his two legs, in front of the Guardians of the Universe, he felt like a new man. "John, you have finished your rehabilitation, and your training. Take your leave of Oa, and return to earth. That area of your sector has been neglected for too long." John kneeled down on one knee. "Thank you for your trust in me. I won't let you down." Rising up he clenched his fist, a green glow surrounding his body. Rising up into the air, he turned and flew out of the conference room. "Hey John, good to see you getting out on your own now," a rough voice hollered out. John turned around in recognition. "Kilowag! How ya doin man." The two lanterns grasped arms together. "Heard from Hal?" John asked. "Nothing. Not since he brought you here. Did you ask the guardians?"

"Yeah, I did. They said I could help Hal most by returning to Earth immediately." Kilowag looked a bit down at this news. "It's just strange is all." "Think about how I feel." John laughingly added. "A year ago I was in a car wreck, crippled from the waist down. Ole Hal shows up to visit me in the hospital, looking nervous. Ask if I wanna walk again. Asked if I could cover his "cosmic shift" for him. I agreed, not thinking nothing of it. Next thing I know, I am here among aliens."

Kilowag laughed. "Yeah, you were shocked. The guardians were as well, until Hal talked to them. Wonder what he discovered that would cause such a sense of urgency."

"Well, all I know is I am supposed to patrol Sector 2814, protect earth, and be a space cop until Hal gets back." John said. "What then?" Kilowag asked. John shrugged. "The guardians said either I or Hal would be re-assigned, unless circumstances develop requiring two guardians in the sector." Shaking his head John focused and began floating again. "Hate to chat and run, but they seemed pretty insistent." Kilowag raised his hand in a farewell salute, which John returned.

Flying through space, John marveled at the beauty of the universe. Lost in thought, he didn't notice his ring pulsing at first. As it grew brighter, and more insistent he paused and looked down. Didn't they mention something about the rings being semi-sentient back on Oa? He focused on the ring, and instantly a star map appeared. A blinking red light near Talkor appeared to be a trouble spot. John sighed, and sped off quickly to the designated location, his ring opening a mini-wormhole for him to travel in.

Seconds later, he was landing near a bar, on the outskirts of a small town. Bodies were everywhere, most broken or bleeding. He clenched his fist in frustration. One of the downsides to being a cop, he guessed. Kicking the door open he noticed a few things. The first thing he noticed was, the fighting was almost over, nearly everybody was unconscious. The second thing he noticed, was the instigator was a woman with wings. "Enough!" he roared, using his ring to create a gong and hammer. Silence fell over the bar, and the woman with wings staggered up to him. "Oh look. A green lantern." Drunkenly she poked him in the chest with her mace. "And what are you going to do if we don't stop?" she slurred.

John reached out with his ring, and removed her mace. "Ma'am, I need you to step outside for a moment." Using his will, he created two green handcuffs and attempted to force her hands behind her back. "Oh no. None of this. That. None of that" she slurred. Wings beating, she began to rise into the air, before hiccupping into the ceiling and plummeting to the ground. Cursing under his breath, John manifested a large pillow for her to land on, breaking her fall, and trapping her with in it. Still muttering and cursing he dragged her outside, away from the bar.

"Do you have a name lady?" John demanded. She looked at him in a rather drunken manner, head tilted sideways. "Of course I do. It's Shakira…err Shamera…Look, I'm a birdie." Rolling over to her knees, she began to laugh, while John stood with his arms folded, anger radiating from his body. "I don't have time for this." Turning to leave he heard her ask "Where are you headed? Can you take me?" "Take you? I don't have time to take you anywhere. I have to return to Earth."

"Earth?" The hawk lady stood there, puzzling something over in her mind. Panic rose in her face, all signs of drunkenness gone. "Wait, you can't go. It..may not even be there now" she said, in complete soberness. Turning, anger in every line in his face he yelled "You were faking? Now you try to get me to stop and listen to this non-sense? Lady, I have half a mind to boot you into space. For all I know you were sent here to delay me." Menacingly he floated closer to her. "I swear, if anybody is dead or hurt on earth because of you…"

"Shayera Hal. Previously of Thanagar." She stepped closer. "I was only playing drunk because I was bored, depressed, angry. But you must listen. Earth is in danger, and it may be too late" she pleaded. "Well _Shayera_, thanks for the delay." Green erupted from his ring, encasing him in a bubble. "Wait! Take me with you! If you are determined to go, at least have some knowledge about what is coming." His first inclination was to just go, but he paused. Knowledge was power. If there was something going on, it might tip the scales. "Fine. But no more games." A green hand reached for her, grabbing her and dragging her in his bubble. Turning back to the stars, Shayera began to talk, explaining what she knew. With every word John's expression grew more stricken.


	11. Chapter 11

**Gotham City June 10****th**** 10pm**

The glow of a computer screen lit up Bruce's face, as he browsed through the information he had received from Lucias. Indirectly LexCorp had invested money in several dummy corporations with addresses around the world. But the trail stopped there. None of the corporations had any purchases or any other form of income. A black hole of Luthor's money. He supposed he could go visit one of the closest addresses, the one in Metropolis, but was not sure anything would be there. He scanned through the rest of the notes, pausing at the last one. IT had indicated several attempted hacks of WayneTechs system over the past 24 hours. It wasn't highly unusual, as competitors attempted it on a regular basis, but this was different, almost impossible to detect. He sent a note to Lucias about improving the firewall, and reviewing policies with department heads.

Leaning back in his chair, his eyes glanced over to the television. A picture of the White House, with the caption "President to address issue of super powered humans." Peering intently, Bruce began to get a nagging feeling at the base of his skull. He knew what capabilities the branches of the government had, and the information they had access to, or could get. His defense contracts had supplied them with most of it, LexCorp the rest. Turning back to his computer, he pulled up the files associated with the contracts and began to browse through them. Parts, software, patents, everything.

An hour passed and he looked down at his list. Just based on what Wayne industries had supplied, across all sectors, the alphabet agencies and the military would have the ability to create and program smart drones, use facial recognition on any camera they had access too, and track any vehicle based on license plate. Cell phones were no longer safe, as they had access to all those. He would need to be discreet in getting the word out, and issues newer safer forms of communication.

Alfred opened the door quickly, interrupting his train of thought. "Sir, Mr. Kent to see you." "Send him in Alfred." Bruce stood and walked around the front of his desk. Clark walked in, a bag over his shoulder, his eyes scanning quickly left and right, his head cocked listening.

"Bruce, did you see the news?" Clark inquired. Nodding his head, Bruce turned the computer around, showing his brief research to Clark. Nodding Clark stood up. "Makes sense. I saw several large drones over the city a few minutes ago, back in Metropolis my contacts mentioned seeing them as well." Pausing he looked at Bruce, "I assume this room is secure?" Bruce nodded. "Active scanning for all forms of wiretapping and surveillance, plus a detection spell Zatana put in place to cover any gaps." Clark smiled briefly. "I should have known. I was going to call, but as I picked up the cell phone, I heard a click on the line, very faint. I assumed it was a switch or relay or something." Bruce frowned. "This type of surveillance is unconstitutional. I'll get some lawyers on it, approach it from the angle of trade secrets and industrial espionage. I have a good case based on the breach attempts of WayneTechs systems several times. Until then, don't say anything over communication lines until I come up with something safe and secure. Something that the government won't have access too."

They stood together, looking over Gotham. "It's going to get bad. Have we made things worse, by trying to make a difference?" Clark wondered out loud.

**Metropolis-Cadmus Research June 10****th**** 10AM**

Patrick was walking the corridors of Cadmus, his pace increased as his sense of urgency set in. Word from up high was the projects needed to be improved, faster, and more efficient. The government wanted access to a means to defeat the super powered people if needed, to offset the imbalance of power. Patrick smiled, at least that was his motive if questioned about his late hours. Reality was he needed to push some buttons, shut down some finance draining sectors, and secure his position.

Entering a small room, he approached the containment vessel of John Corbin. "John, wake up" he hissed. "I never sleep worm. What are you doing here at this hour?"

"We got a call from up top. They want Superman taken down, now." Patrick replied, his hands hidden in the fold of his jacket. "The clones are not ready yet, but your suit has been outfitted with the new radioactive power source." Slowly moving closer, Patricks hands began to emerge from his jacket, holding a vial of strange liquid.

"I'll have to have verification from Waller, the procedure to place my brain in the cyborg is delicate, and not one I wish to let you help in." The vessel spun on its wheels, as he moved towards his communication panel, a probe extending that would allow him to use the communicator. "Wait ovvveeerrrr tthhhh" Corbin sputtered. Patrick grinned wickedly, hiding the vial back in his jacket. The toxin was one of his own creation, a simple mind controlling formula. For the next twenty four hours Corbin would do whatever he asked. After twenty four hours, he would have no memory, but considering who he was going after, he would be lucky to be alive.

Patrick wheeled the brain containing vessel into the hallway, and towards the special room he had prepared. He had approximately 15 minutes to transfer the brain to the cyborgs body before the closed loop security footage erased itself. Too little time if he relied on this primitive technology, more than double the time needed using his, special tools.

Five minutes later, Corbin was waking up, at home in his new cyborg body. "Waaaats goooinnn onn?"

"You are now the pinnacle of human evolution. Your new body is indestructible by anything on this miserable planet, and should be able to handle the superman. Your body will respond the same as your flesh one did, except there will be no weakness. And now, go kill Superman, Batman, and anybody else who gets in your way. Destroy Gotham, raze it to the ground."

Corbin began to move, slowly at first. His head was groggy, but all he felt was an urge to kill Superman, Batman, and destroy Gotham. He didn't know why, or how, but he would. Without a word, Corbin walked to the hall, then began to run to the entrance. Closing the lab door, Patrick checked his watch, and then ran to the alarm panel. Grinning he pushed the call button, alerting security that Corbin just ran by him, as an android.

**Metropolis, Lex Luthors Penthouse June 11****th****, 1AM**

An incessant buzzing entered Luthors dreams, thousands of bugs swarmed his head, then a voice "lex, LEX!" Stirring he began to wake, then realized the noise he heard was his phone. Angrily he answered the phone "There better be a damn good reason for waking me up whoever this is."

"Lex, Waller here. John Corbin has gone rogue. We have reports and security footage of him entering his lab, then leaving in his android body." Lex pondered the implications of the situation. "I wouldn't worry about it. He will probably go after Superman, provoke a fight, and get more government scrutiny on the _heroes_. However, we can't let them recover the body, so I am sending a recovery team after him now. I assume the fail safe and tracking beacon are still active?"

"As far as we can tell. He is apparently heading towards Gotham City. Which is the last place Superman was seen." Lex thought some more about the best way to turn this to his advantage. "I'll have Mercy alert the media that we were hacked by an android, who downloaded all the files we have about Superman. We will then have our media controlled outlets report the same. The White House will get briefed about it, and send drones and soldiers. Gothams fall will be our victory Amanda."

"You seem more pleased over the death of innocents then I thought you would Lex. This isn't about beating or killing Superman and his friends, this is about protecting the humans that live here." "I know Amanda, but I am a business man, and see things in the perspective of assets, losses, liabilities, and gains. At the very least this will give our genetics department time to continue to develop. And, it will give us some more footage of how they fight."

The phone was silent as Waller pondered Lex's logic. "All right Lex. Send your team for recovery, nothing that implicates Cadmus can fall into the media, or Batmans hands." With the last word, she hung up the phone. Luthor grinned and rolled over, but Mercy was already up and dressed. "On it Lex" she commented, as she walked to the door. Grinning, he dialed another number on his phone. "Slade. I need you to go to Gotham…"

**Gotham City, June 11****th****, 3AM**

Bruce was jolted awake by an earth shaking explosion. Immediately he jumped out of bed and ran to the computer. Data was already scrolling across his screen, compilers and feeds that were bringing in all sorts of data. Pictures, video's, tweet, news media, and scanner reports. Scanning the feed he became aware of a presence behind him. "Bruce…I hear screams, agony, and my name. We need to go."

Bruce looked over his shoulder, at Clark, already dressed in his business clothes. "Agreed, but we need an idea of what we are dealing with."

"It doesn't matter. People need me, I am going." Without another word, Superman burst from the penthouse at an incredible speed, heading to the site of the latest blast. "Impatient and reckless," growled Bruce under his breath. Scanning some more he began to get an idea of what was happening. A robot of some sort, with enhanced strength was tearing up the city, screaming Supermans name. "Zatana, this is Batman, are you near?"

"Batman, this is Zatana. The explosion was right down the street from my apartment, I am getting people to safety and OH MY GOD….Bruce…Superman just plowed into this thing and the shockwave knocked the buildings over."

"On my way Zatana" Bruce declared, changing as he ran to the window. "Reckless, and impatient" he muttered under his breath as he swang out into the night.

**White House Emergency Room**

"Yes Mr. President, all major news outlets are reporting this. Superman and some robot are destroying Gotham." The president sighed and shook his head. He gave the order for the military to move on Gotham, and sent drones in to take hi-res movies. Was it beginning? Was this what they feared? With growing trepidation, he watched the breaking news.

**Gotham City**

Zatana had given up on the rescue attempts, realizing if the android wasn't stopped, Gotham would be in ruins. She was racing towards the last place she saw them when a shadow flew over her head. Looking up she saw Batman swinging down to the street and changed course to meet him. Without warning, her legs became bound and she was falling to the ground. She broke her fall with her hands and turned it into a roll, and met a boot across her head as she was coming up. Dazed, eyes blurred she noticed a woman in grin, with a hideous mask on, and a familiar orange and blue outfitted male. She opened her mouth to chant, and was greeted with another blow to the head. "None of that now precious," spoke a slithering female voice. She felt hard gloves slide over her hands, form shaped to prevent her hands from making symbols, and felt a gag go in her mouth. Tied up and gagged she couldn't move, couldn't cast, couldn't talk.

"Nothing personal, just business. None the less, we still can't let you interfere." Deathstroke looked down at her, testing her bonds one last time.

"Hands off. Now." Snarled a dark, rough voice. Deathstroke and Cheshire turned as one, weapons drawn, and faced the Batman. "Deathstroke. Cheshire. This is my city. You aren't wanted here. One chance. Leave now."

Deathstroke looked at Batman, his eye never leaving the darkened cowl. "Sorry Batman. We are here on business. Paid…pickup you might say." Cheshire tensed her body, scooting to the side of Batman. "You were warned," whispered Batman. His hand flicked and two clouds of smoke appeared where he was. Cheshire leapt forward, ignoring Deathstrokes hand and was instantly wrapped by a weighted bolo. As she went down, another small round ball exploded near her, covering her with gas, causing her extreme drowsiness.

"So, I take out your partner, you take out mine? That's fine with me, I have always been curious as to how good you are," Deathstroke muttered, as he slid back into the shadows in the alley.

Two blocks away, Superman was discovering that this android was pretty much impervious to his punches. Corbin was circling Superman with a ghastly grin on his face. "You will die, die die, Superman. For I am Metallo, and my birth is your death!" Lunging forward Metallo swung a powerful, yet slow punch at Superman. Superman dodged his attack again, and hit back with everything in him. Metallo flew through the air, through a building and into the football stadium before landing. _I should have waited on Bruce, _thought Superman, as he flew after Metallo.

Landing in the stadium, Superman stared down Metallo. "It's been fun, but it ends now, man of steeeel" rasped Metallo. His hands began to glow green, and Superman began to feel sick. "I can't match your speed, or your strength, but you can't hurt me either" bragged Metallo. "But that's in a fair fight, and I despise fair fights." Twin beams of green light blasted from his fingers, hitting Superman in the chest, bringing him to his knees. Superman struggled to his feet. It was that same green radiation that hurt him earlier, but this time much more intense, focused. He focused his eyes on Metallo, and sent heat vision out to his hands, trying to disable the lasers.

"Haha, that tickles. My turn" grinned Metallo, as twin beams of green shot from his eyes, burning deep into Supermans eyes. Screaming in a voice of somebody who has never felt true pain, Superman fell to his knees, clutching his eyes. Hearing his pain, Metallo burst into disturbing, mechanical laughter, darting forward. Pausing over Supermans body, Metallo focused on his hands, extending razor thin beams of green radiation from each finger, extending two inches from the tip. "It's amazing what I can do with the right combination of optics. For example, I can create a laser so powerful, so focused, the point disappears between atoms."

A sudden downward slash of his hand ripped across Supermans shoulder, exposing muscle and tissue, and causing blood to gush out. Superman screamed again, quieter, weaker than before. His life draining out of his body, pain wracking every inch of it, blood covering his suit. With what waning strength he had, he reached out, grabbing Metallo's leg, and threw him as far as he could. Metallo soared over the stadium, landing in the parking lot. Superman began to feel some strength returning, and crawled for the locker room, hoping to hide before Metallo returned.


End file.
